Monday, October 27, 2008

Following 3 easy days with no bike time and rested, the results are in.

Not surprisingly, the downward hr trend did not continue. During the first 4 weeks of progressive volume, I was successful in gaining an appropriate amount of fatigue. This resulted in a depressed hr for the given effort. After a short rest, my hr response returned to what historically I would expect for the work required for my ironman bike output.

Friday, October 24, 2008

The weather cooperated this past weekend and I was able to complete my long bike ride outside. It was a challenging ride that started after a 3,000 yd. swim, a quick coffee/nutrition break, and right into the ride. A local cyclocross stud, who was was taking a break from racing after 5 races/15 days, agreed to ride easy the first couple of hours with me. His easy is a bit different than mine...2 hours later with an avg hr exceeding 152, I proceeded solo for additional 3:45 that included a climb up hilltop and bogus basin. Needless to say, I was a bit toasted, but happy that I was still able to elevate my hr on the last climb. My avg. hr for the day was 144, so I will shoot for a goal hr similar to that for the Silverman ride.

But, as Gordo commented earlier, it will be interesting to see how it looks when I'm rested. This weekend I'm in Boston with the family visiting friends, so I will be off the bike for 3 days.Monday's test will be interesting.

My hr. requirement continues to trend down. I'm surprised to see the downward trend as dramatic as it appears. My experience with running is that I have a much slower response to training load. Next week will be a bit more challenging with a scheduled 6 hour ride. We had our first snow of the year this past weekend, necessitating the long trainer ride. I've done one 6 hour trainer ride in the past, so I'm prepared to do it if necessary. Fortunately it immediately warmed up again to good weather. Lets hope not!!!!

Monday, October 6, 2008

For those following the blog, this is installlment 2 of the MBT experiment. I will jot down my training schedule and a bit of whats going on in my head the next 5 weeks. I haven’t put my TT bike back together yet after returning from Placid, so all of my bike training has been down on my old Elite TT with Powercranks, mountain bike and my road bike. I certainly need to get the P3 together and will do so before my longest ride in two weeks.

Sun: 60 mile group ride 2:30 max 186 (???never been higher than 174) avg 154. Then 30 min up and down bottom of Bogus to get 3hours 148/133.

The results of the MBT:

Date Watts Duration Avg. HR9/28 180 60 min 14710/6 180 60 min 135

That change seems pretty dramatic. I calibrated the computrainer the same way this week as last, so I don't think measurement error is in play. There has been a bit of max hr effort. Generally your cardiovascular system responds within 3 days of training. How that “feels” to me is the harder efforts on the bike feel pretty easy CV wise, but the legs feel heavy and are currently my limiter. The quick CV response could certainly be playing a role with tired legs creating a decoupling effect. Fun to watch in any regard.

That’s a wrap for week one. Shoot your comments my way and happy to discuss.

Popular Posts

Bio

Dr. Shilt is the Director of Gait Lab at St. Luke's Childrens Hospital in Boise, Idaho. After nearly 10 years in academic medicine as the residency program director and an Assoc. Professor at Wake Forest University, he transitioned to his current position that allows both the practice of Adult & Pediatric Orthopaedics as well as the expansion of his practice in Endurance Sports Medicine. He has given over 100 presentations internationally, authored more than 30 articles, 5 chapters and has been the primary or co-investigator on research grants totaling more than $1 million. He co-authored a chapter in Joe Friel and Gordo Byrn's book, Going Long. He is currently working with Team Exergy, a professional cycling team based in Boise, ID. Dr. Shilt has qualified for the world Ironman Championship in Hawaii, Xterra World Championship in Maui, ITU Age Group World Championship, the Boston Marathon, and won the coveted "big buckle" at the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race.
Dr. Shilt has been chosen as one of the "Best Doctors in America" a distinction only 4% of all physicians in the United Stages are selected.